Desert Biome in Africa/Asia

By T.J. Lohden, Eric Harper, Jade Burgess, and Tyler Williams

The Weather

• The desert is a harsh environment with very little rainfall and extreme temperatures.

Rainfall

• A desert is defined as a region that gets less than ten inches of precipitation per year.

Lut Desert

• One of the driest deserts in the world is the Lut Desert in Iran.

• This desert gets less than half an inch of precipitation per year.

Temperatures

• Temperatures exhibit daily extremes because the atmosphere contains little humidity to block the Sun’s rays.

• Annual temperatures range from 68°F-77°F.

• Extreme maximum ranges from 110.3°F-120.2°F.

Cold Deserts

• The Gobi Desert in Mongolia is an example of a cold desert.

• Shares the very cold winters of central Asia.

Namib Desert

• Summer is very hot and the Namib Desert should be avoided at this time as temperatures are often above 104ºF.

Sahara Desert

• The world’s largest desert.

• Covers most of Northern Africa with over 9,000,000 square kilometers (3,500,000 sq mi).

Areas and Attractions in the African Desert

• 1. Barchans sand dunes • 2. Dry steam drainage • 3. Richat structure • 4. Lake Chad • 5. Jebel Marra Volcano • 6. Sand dunes • 7. Suez canal• 8. Complex sand dunes • 9. Nile Delta • 10. Atlas mountains • 11. Pyramids at Abusir

Areas and Attractions in the Asian desert

• 1. Sand dunes over a hundred meters high some over 300

• 2. There are over 80 types of birds and other species

• 3. Talkman desert • 4. Tie man pass• 5. Lop Nur people village

Animals of the Deserts

• Animals include:

• Hedgehogs

• Sidewinders

• Desert Owls

• Bats

• Fennec Foxes

• Dromedary Camels

• Dama Gazelles

• Addax

• Scorpions

• Roadrunners

Scorpions

• Scorpions hide under rocks to keep cool during harsh desert days.

• Scorpions only release a very small amount of venom with their sting, but it can be very potent.

• Scorpions are very territorial with other scorpions, but often prefer to run from very large predators.

• Stinging is a last resort, as venom takes some time to concoct.

Ostriches

• Ostriches live on the outskirts of the Saharan Desert.

• Ostriches are the second fastest land animal, with a speed of 40mph. They can keep this speed for about 20 minutes.

• Ostriches do not bury their head in the sand. Ostriches stretch out their neck and lay their head on the ground to

keep from being seen.

Kangaroo Rats

• Kangaroo Rats burrow deep into the sand to stay cool.

• Kangaroo Rats have the amazing ability to convert food they eat into water.

• Kangaroo Rats do not pant or sweat like most animals to keep cool.

• This cactus has a very thick stem.

• The leaves of the Peyote Cactus reduce to spines, this helps in preventing water loss

Peyote Cactus

• The date palm is the most important export from the Sahara desert

• Key food source for the locals

• Most meals and drinks include the fruit of the Date Palm

Date Palm

• Olive trees were first in the African Desert then moved all over the world

• Key business for the natives

• Very important to the Sahara Deserts ecosystem

• Found near the Nile River

Olive Tree